03/14/2012

Pi Day, Britannica and Bench Pressing on a Motorcycle

Not pie like apple pie or blueberry pie, although you can certainly celebrate with a piece of pie if you like. Today, March 14, is the annual celebration of Pi… or 3.14… A happy day for math nerds everywhere. Is it any wonder that today is also Albert Einstein's birthday (March 14, 1879)?

The digital book era has shuttered book stores and now closed the book on the Encyclopaedia Britannica. After 244 years, the Britannica will no longer be available in print, instead focusing on its online offerings and educational curriculum for schools.

The last print edition is the 32-volume 2010 edition. If you are interested, the company still has 4,000 volumes sitting in a warehouse unsold. Back in the 1950s, the Encyclopaedia Britannica was a staple of America culture. The reference books were once sold door-to-door by traveling salesmen (back in college, I actually interviewed for this job, but ended up working at a radio station instead). The books were expensive, and many families had to pay for it in monthly installments.

In the last decade, Britannica faced increased pressure from the web site Wikipedia and other digital offerings. And so today marks another closing chapter thanks to the digital age and the end of the oldest continuously published encyclopedia in the English language.

If you read only one other item today, read this: Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs. It's an Op-Ed in the New York Times by Greg Smith, who is resigning today as a Goldman Sachs executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

JonBenet Ramsey is forever remembered as a 6-year-old beauty queen, frozen in time by a killer who has never been identified. But her father, John Ramsey, remembers his daughter as a tomboy who loved to play and hike with her older brother. Ramsey, in an interview with ABC News, says he finds the hit tv show "Toddlers and Tiaras" disturbing. “It’s very bizarre,” he says outright. “And, it certainly– Patsy and JonBenet didn’t approach it that way. We– they just did it for fun.” The full interview airs on Nightline tonight.

Jennie Garth of 90210 fame and Twilight star Peter Facinelli have opted for free agency. They are headed to divorce court after 11 years. The couple has three daughters together. In a joint statement, they said, "While we have decided to end our marriage, we both share the same deep love and devotion to our children."

Not long after Brandon Marshall became a trending topic because Miami traded the wide receiver to Chicago came a report that he punched a woman in the eye here in New York City. According to the New York Post, Christin Myles, a woman celebrating a birthday, briefly left an upper floor of the Marquee at 4:00 in the morning. Myles was told to wait because Marshall allegedly was involved in a fight with an unnamed football player and both players were being thrown out of the club. Myles eventually met with her friends outside, and found the 6-foot-4 Marshall and the unnamed player arguing with her group. Marshall then allegedly punched Myles in the left eye, leaving her with a black eye, according to The Post. The paper also said it wasn't clear if Marshall intentionally struck Myles or if he meant to hit one of her friends.

Another star wideout, Vincent Jackson, is changing coasts after signing a $55.5 million deal with Tampa Bay. According to ESPN, the deal is five years with $26 million guaranteed. Jackson has been one of the game's best receivers, but he did not have the best relationship with San Diego general manager A.J. Smith.

In NBA wheeling and dealing, the Milwaukee Bucks agreed to trade big man Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors.

Here's a high school version of March Madness - An amazing finish to the Colorado state high school boys' basketball championship game.

From Russia comes a video that will leave you scratching your head. Some teenagers apparently thought it would be fun to go down a hill inside a cable spool. Not sure how badly they were injured, but it looks painful.

Tiger Woods might not be having much success on the golf course in real life, but he still has a video game. The trailer for Tigers Woods PGA Tour 13 has gone viral.

The Banjo Boys are back! This time, they're practicing a version of Eric Weissberg's "Dueling Banjos" in their bedroom.

And finally, a bench press while riding a motorcycle and doing a wheelie.